The three Democrats shared the stage Tuesday night during a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, touching on issues ranging from public safety to the balance between downtown and neighborhood priorities.

Grand is backed by allies of Hieftje, including Downtown Development Authority board members Joan Lowenstein and Sandi Smith, while Dascola is supported by members of an opposing political faction that includes Council Members Jane Lumm and Jack Eaton.

McMullen describes himself as a "political outsider" and says he's not affiliated with any factions fighting for power on council.

"I'm running for City Council because I'd like to see better politics in Ann Arbor," he said, adding he wants to bring a student voice to council.

"As an Ann Arbor resident and a student, I bring a unique perspective to this job that has been lacking for many, many years," he said.

Grand is a 17-year resident of Ann Arbor who teaches health policy at U-M-Dearborn and served for six years on the city's Park Advisory Commission before stepping down last year. She's running on her record of public service.

"I feel like I can hit the ground running because I understand how the city works," she said. "I've written resolutions. I've been through six budgets as part of the Park Advisory Commission. I enjoy a mutually respectful relationship with staff. I've developed a leadership style that is collaborative."

While on PAC, Grand said, she worked to improve golf course operations and the senior center, incorporated sustainability practices, and mapped the future of riverfront recreation, the Allen Creek Greenway, and downtown open space.

"In spite of challenging economic times, we were able to maintain all of our facilities, pass a parks millage, and leverage creative partnerships to meet emerging needs like the Argo Cascades, new ballfields and the skatepark," she said.

Dascola, who owns a barbershop on State Street, was born and raised in Ann Arbor and has worked for his family's business downtown for 44 years.

He noted he had to sue the city to get on the ballot after his eligibility was challenged by city officials. He said he fought hard against city hall's efforts to keep him off the ballot and he'll work equally hard for the residents of Ann Arbor.

"Many of us in the 3rd Ward are concerned with our basic city services that have been neglected," he said. "Some of these specific things that I'm hearing now that need to be addressed include maintaining the character and charm of the city by not overbuilding or erecting too many high-rise apartment buildings, improving basic city services — police, fire, water and sewer — restoring autumn leaf pickup, fixing the potholes, and better maintaining our streets and sidewalks."

He added, "We need to take a hard look at many of the projects that keep being proposed … and hire fewer expensive consultants."

McMullen, who is 19 and grew up in Ann Arbor, said the city has focused too much on the downtown, neglecting basic services in neighborhoods.

"There's a lot of money toward downtown, and as you get out farther away from the city, it drops off," he said. "And that's something that has been a trend, as I understand it, since the '80s when the DDA started funding the downtown."

McMullen said the downtown is vibrant and beautiful today, and it's a wonderful place to be.

"But now I think it's time that we play a little bit of catchup with the rest of the ward," he said. "That includes everything — that's public safety, that's infrastructure."

Dascola said he has spoken to numerous residents with public safety concerns, including a man who had an automobile stolen from his driveway, and so he's in favor of rebuilding the police department and hiring more officers.

"I had lunch with a police officer a few months ago, and she told me that while I was sitting having lunch with her, there were only three other people driving around in police cars," he said. "And at night, from 11 o'clock until 7 a.m., there's only two."

Police Chief John Seto said Dascola's depiction of police staffing levels in Ann Arbor is not accurate.

"As for the first part, there may be times when officers are tied up on calls or at the station for followup, but we always have more than four officers scheduled to work," he said. "As for the second part about staffing on nights, it is absolutely false that we would ever only have two officers working."

Dascola said there also are issues with panhandling downtown and he believes a lot of crime in Ann Arbor goes unreported, skewing the statistics.

Grand agreed there are safety concerns in the 3rd Ward, and she said there is more crime in some areas than others, particularly in the southeast section.

"While crime is down in the city overall, I don't think that's very meaningful to you if it's happening to you personally," she said.

But whether the city should hire more police officers and firefighters is another question, she said, suggesting the city should operate on facts, not fear.

"We need to think about how our police and firefighters are utilized. We need to think about metrics that clearly explain what we're going to get when we add those police and fire safety officers," she said. "Are we getting more safety when we add staff?"

Grand said she'll be interested to see the gains in the downtown with two new officers that are expected to do downtown foot patrols as part of their shifts. She said she hopes to see the same done in parks and neighborhoods.

She said creating safe and attractive neighborhoods decreases crime, so the city shouldn't just be thinking about adding police and firefighters.

"We also need — when we talk about allocation of resources — public education and traffic calming," she said. "And most importantly, we need to address the root causes of crime, so part of that allocation really should come from human services funding, so we can talk about things like drug addiction, mental health, poverty and housing."

McMullen agreed that more affordable housing — not more police — is the solution for some of the issues in the downtown.

Dascola noted he is a founding board member of Think Local First and is active with the Ann Arbor Rotary Club. His community involvement also includes the State Street Area Association Board of Directors, Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library, Friends of West Park, Fire-Up Downtown Art Project, Allen Creek Stormwater Management Committee and the Mayor's Downtown Marketing Task Force.

"I've gone to six International Downtown Association conferences in the last 12 years and have gotten a lot of other ideas from cities about projects and things to make their city safe, better parks, and that sort of thing," he said. "So I feel that I have a good opportunity here to be able to bring these back to our city."

Grand noted she has a master's degree and ph.D. from the U-M School of Public Health.

"In my public health career, I've worked in economically challenged communities — in public housing neighborhoods in Pontiac and schools in Detroit," she said, noting she also has attended a lot of academic conferences.

"So I can transition very easily between lots of different communities," she said. "And I'm comfortable addressing issues in front of a broad and diverse constituency."

McMullen, who is studying biochemistry at U-M, is a 2013 graduate of the Rudolf Steiner private high school in Ann Arbor. He said he might not have the same depth of experience as his opponents, but he offers what residents need.

"When you look for a representative, you need someone who listens, someone who can learn quickly, someone who will be receptive to ideas from a broad range of people," he said. "And as a student, if there's one thing I know how to do, it's my homework, so I'm prepared to take on this job."

With no Republicans running in the 3rd Ward, the winner of the primary advances unopposed to the November election, unless an unforeseen independent challenger emerges before the July 17 filing deadline for nonpartisan candidates.